Food Safety Audits

Abstract

Food safety has gained global attention due to rising issues of food-borne illnesses, adulteration, and increased consumer awareness about food safety worldwide. It is a challenge for the governments and the food industry itself to maintain food safety throughout the food and supply chain. There are several systems and processes adopted by various countries to ensure food safety, and the food safety audits are one of the indispensable tools to achieve the goals of food quality and safety. Rising trends of consuming processed foods, eating out in restaurants and cafes, home deliveries of food from outside worldwide have made the auditing process very essential to ensure that the food products are being manufactured, stored, and sold in compliance with national and international standards. This chapter aims at providing an overview of the food audit processes, scope, importance, challenges, and future trends.